Originally Posted by
manwhohaseverything
While, peter might seem like a protagonist. Spiderman is still the driving force and reason for peter's conflicts and obstacles. Not the other way around. He was thrusted into being spiderman. Therefore the story. Moreover, stan lee calls him "the amazing spiderman". Batman is called the batman. Superman doesn't need all that to convey exceptionalism. Why? He is superman. The title itself conveys it adequately. Anymore would be overkill.with spiderman The thrust is on amazing. Superheroics is embracing exceptionlism. Not rejection of it. They don't say "just spiderman" or " just batman". Moreover, the runner in central or keystone isn't barry allen nor wally west, its the flash. Nobody largely knew (still may not) who that was. Case in point, the flash in jl tv show.
No superman and clark don't think differently. It's just that their functions are different. Me as a parent and me as a son are my two identities. If i listen to an order from my parent i function as a son. But, if i order my offspring i function as a father. So there you go,the story of superman should be about the function of superman. Hence, the function of an action hero or vigilante strongman from space. As i said, perspective of a story is driven by the identity that acts as an anchor. By focusing, i mean putting emphasise on a function. Here, it's superman's function. Clark kents function is to be an investigative reporting, to focus on family,wife.. Etc. How can a story focus on a function of a character or identity,when the identity itself becomes a function? So postcrisis interpretation is bogus to that end.it made superman identity into a mere function.
While, i do acknowledge the subjective nature of art. There are things that are written on paper and are factual. For instance, what is superman? What is clark kent? What is kal el? All are neatly defined on paper. They have domains and function. As said earlier, these domains might have overlaps. But, the distinction still remain. Clark kent cannot function as an alien. Why? He is farmboy reporter from kansas. Kal el cannot function as the man, either. Why? He is an alien with vastly different level of physical senses and cultural perspective. Both kal and clark cannot function as superman. Why? He is strongman vigilantes. He is about defending the defenceless , working out, flexing muscles, kicking bullies, save the day, breaking a few rules.. Etc as swashbuckling action hero. I will say it again, superheroics is embracing exceptionlism. It doesn't get any more exceptional than superman.